Page 48 - Year 3 SOW (2020)

Primary Year 3 SK Scheme of Work
4. Differentiation strategies for Primary pupils

The Scheme of Work outlines one or more suggestions for differentiation for each lesson. These suggestions are related directly to the focus of that lesson
and are often similar to the strategies below. However, every class is different, and teachers are encouraged to reflect on the learning needs of their
individual pupils in each class. They may choose to follow the suggestions in the Scheme of Work, and/or follow one or more strategies from the list below.

Strategy 1: Differentiate by the task pupils are given
If teachers are using the same task for the whole class, using open-ended tasks such as brainstorming allows a large number of correct responses. Open-
ended tasks (e.g. Tell me the food words you know, or What will happen next?) allow more proficient pupils to contribute more unusual words, more
complex language, or more original ideas. Sometimes, the teacher can also give different tasks to more proficient and less proficient groups of pupils
according to their needs and interests: see Strategy 5 for more on this.

Strategy 2: Differentiate by the type and amount of support provided

The teacher can support pupils to understand and use language with:
 their own instruction (e.g. ‘It begins with B. You read it. It’s on the desk.’)
 with gestures
 with visuals (e.g. flashcards on the board to help pupils understand or use vocabulary)
 with written words (e.g. written words on a worksheet to help pupils with spelling).

Different types and amount of support can be given to less proficient pupils, depending on their needs, and extra challenge can be provided for more
proficient pupils. For example, you can give more proficient pupils basic verbal instructions without using gestures.

Strategy 3: Differentiate by the outcome expected from pupils
The teacher may expect more language from some pupils, and less from others. The main aim is that every pupil says or writes something, so that they
feel successful. Two useful strategies here are:

i) Compulsory plus optional
Here, the teacher sets pupils targets such as With your partner, write 2 sentences or more, or In your group, say 3 colours or more. The minimum
target (2 sentences, 3 colours) is compulsory, and everyone needs to achieve this to be successful. But the ‘or more’ is optional, and gives a chance
for more proficient language pupils to challenge themselves. Some pupils will stop at the minimum target at first, but with more practice, they will soon
get the idea of going beyond the minimum target.
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